We close out the 6 Days of the Giro with our sixth and final installment.
A body at rest, stays at rest. A body in motion, stays in motion. Things get a bit more ambiguous when it comes to a body on a bicycle tearing down a twisty mountain descent at speed, particularly in the rain. But it is here, on the boundary between clarity and ambiguity, where things get interesting.
Cornering feels a bit like you’re stealing from Physics, as if you’re getting away with something. Momentum, as fundamental as it is, doesn’t know what’s good for us and stubbornly wants to carry us on its merry path. The faster we go, the bigger its influence becomes and the harder we push against it, balancing on the knife’s edge between our body’s lean and the bike’s pull. For those skilled in this craft, the bicycle and rider carve through the bend in perfect harmony.
I’m not particularly good at cornering, which is to say I’m not particularly good at descending. Its a shame, too, because given my size I’m not very good at climbing, either. The way to get better is to practice, and not to give Rule #64 too much thought. You will crash if you want to get better, but you mustn’t lose your nerve. A nervous descender is a bad descender and everyone knows where to find bad descenders.
The riders getting the most practice in this discipline must surely be les grimpeurs for it seems they would be riding down all those mountains they’re riding up. The surprising truth is that this does not always appear to be the case; one need look no farther than Andy Schleck to find evidence of that particular postulate. Furthermore, one would think that a professional, who by the very nature of their occupation is quite used to finding themselves on the tarmac, would be most able to come off and not lose their nerve. This, also, doest not always appear to be the case.
The Giro, known for its narrow mountain roads, is won as much on the descents as it is on the climbs. Who can forget the 1988 Giro, which was won on the descent of the Gavia, not its climb. Or the 2002 and 2005 editions when Il Falco used every millimeter of road as he swept through the hairpin bends to distance his rivals. This year, Brad Wiggins had already put himself on the back foot on GC when he came off on a slow bend and spent the rest of the stage riding like his tires were made of glass. On the same stage, Nibali attacked and came off on a high speed corner before jumping back on his machine and rejoining the leaders moments later. The difference is a question of not only skill, but fearlessness.
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The important things aside from weighting the outside pedal and pushing down with the inside bar are (1) get in the drops to get low; (2) brake before the turn; and (3) start wide, and hit the apex so you can take the right line on the exit. The reason (2) is important is that your tires only have so much traction. That traction can go to accelerating, braking, or cornering. So ideally you get the braking done before the corner. Another way to focus on this is the idea is not to enter the turn with as much speed as you can carry, but exiting the turn with as much speed as you can carry.
@snoov
That, and gripping the top tube with your knees helps.
@frank
The difference between motorcycles and bikes is the distribution of mass within the rider/vehicle system. For a given speed/turn radius/condition/corner there is a certain angle that the center of gravity must be kept above relative to the surface. With a bike most of the mass is the rider so you want to keep that more above the contact patches and let the geometry of the bike cause the turning. Countersteering is part of what makes the turn, but it doesn't have to be drastic, just a little thought and pressure, more for a sharper turn. Looking through the corner is a major thing as well.
@Ron
I found a sweet descent the other day, cut into the side of the mountain instead of just going straight up Pennsylvania style. Glass smooth surface, a bunch of consecutive turns, secluded away in a forest. Ended up doing a bunch of repeats because it was just so much fun.
@scaler911
That is how I go through gravel corners, as well as when I am standing and cornering.
@Nate
Now I'm back to hands again... Given that downward forces on the front tire have to come through the steerer, does weighting the inside bar really load the tire differently from weighting both sides equally? (I'm not saying it doesn't, just trying to understand.)
The rest of your post I totally get and have practiced on both bicycles and motorcycles, and I am still alive and ambulatory. (Knock on wood.)
@PeakInTwoYears
It isn't weighting per se, more to do with using the geometry of the bike to cause a turn through countersteering. From what I've seen/read no one has been able to conclude how exactly bikes steer/balance. (Scientific studies by Universities and such) Just try it, a little goes a long way.
@DerHoggz
Boy, I'll say. A 400-pound motorcycle underneath me feels a lot different from a 17-pound Cannondale. I have never, not once, been tempted to skooch my ass off the inside of a bicycle in a turn!
There's also a rather ginormous difference in the directional stability imparted by the two different kinds of wheels.
@DerHoggz
So we ARE talking about counter-steering a bicycle...! I have tried it, lately, and "a little goes a long way" is an understatement to someone used to counter-steering a motorcycle.
@PeakInTwoYears
on a sportbike, you shouldnt be weighting the inside peg. rather, your outside thigh should be hugging the gas tank. and the dynamic is much different, since as you stated you can slide completely off the bike, to the point where the elbows are making contact with the asphalt.
the inside knee isnt really being dragged along either, and doesnt serve as a contact point per se. it's a feeler, like the whiskers of a cat. that's not to say lowsides havent been brought under control by the use of knees, but it's not a great practice to get into.
and somewhere someone was talking about countersteer, and that action on a motorbike is more of a push on the inside bar, not a pull on the outer.
@PeakInTwoYears I think it might do more for leaning the bike. I honestly don't know the theory, I have just observed that it is a common piece of advice, and one that I find very helpful.
@PeakInTwoYears
Never drove a motorcycle, but I can imagine. You probably do it without realizing from experience on a motorcycle, it is just counter-intuitive to not steer into the corner unless you are told.
There's an article on counter steering in Issue 9 of Cyclist
. Max Glaskin states - In order to turn right it's first necessary to turn to the left...by twitching your bars to the left your mass will automatically fall to the right, as the bicycle is essentially steering out from underneath you.Having shifted your mass to the right, you then need to "catch" the bike...You do this by turning the handlebars back towards the corner you wish to make, bringing the bicycle back underneath you.
It ends with a quote from Foggy - It's all about throwing the bike over on its side and hoping it sticks there.